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Mayor at 30 – then what? Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes

Lisa Holmes is a political veteran at an age when most men haven’t even started their political careers. The outgoing mayor of Morinville was first elected to the town’s council in 2010, at the age of 30 — in the seven years since, she has become a prominent supporter of women in politics across the political spectrum in Alberta. In this interview, Holmes talks about why she’s leaving political life for now — despite her personal drive to get more women elected to public office…why she supports a variety of women in politics, across party lines ..and why she wrote a Facebook post about Donald Trump on the night he was elected. Holmes has been courted by every political party in the province, and she hasn’t ruled out an eventual return to politics. She’s a political mover and shaker, and one to watch — and listen to, especially if you’re interested in women in municipal politics. Our interview starts at the 7:30 mark of this podcast.

We also discuss grassroots efforts to support more women in leadership positions in Africa. There is already parity legislation in a handful of African countries and about 24 per cent of federal political seats across sub-Saharan Africa are held by women. But the goal is to see those numbers grow. We also point you to an interview with Rona Ambrose, about her new life outside of politics, which sounds comparatively, very chilled.